Kistler Vineyards
They buy French oak as wood, air-dry it in St Romain, and coopered barrels arrive three years later. Wine Spectator put the 2017 Vine Hill Chardonnay sixth in its Top 100 of 2020 at 96 points.43
Why go
Steve Kistler and Mark Bixler founded this in 1978 and made the first vintage in 1979, and the rich, oaky Chardonnays that followed set the template a generation of California winemakers copied.1 Kistler makes California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and nothing else, from seventeen vineyards across five appellations: Carneros, Sonoma Valley, Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast and Sonoma Mountain.4 That is twelve single-vineyard Chardonnays and two single-vineyard Pinot Noirs.4
Almost every Chardonnay here comes off the heritage Old Wente clone, planted into every Chardonnay vineyard they farm since the mid-1980s, and two heritage Pinot Noir selections have been propagated for the last twenty-five years.14 Elin McCoy put the consequence in one line after tasting eleven of the single-vineyard Chardonnays from one vintage: same clone, same barrel fermentation on native yeast, same eleven months and the same proportion of new oak, no fining and no filtering, so what is left between the bottles is the site.1 Fruit comes in at night while it is cold.4 The Chardonnays ferment in underground barrel chais on native yeast.4 A cellar crew works the Pinot fermentations by hand around the clock.4
The house is not the founder's any more. Bill Price took a majority stake in 2008 and Jason Kesner came in to shadow Steve Kistler through it; Kistler retired at the end of 2017 and Kesner is president and winemaking director now.2 The sale cost Kistler the right to put his own name on a label and the right to make a Chardonnay at all, which is why his second act, Occidental, is Pinot Noir.2 The wine changed with the hands. Elin McCoy tasted the 2017s at the winery and found a style that had moved a long way from the cult bottles: slimmer, fresher, more energetic. Kesner told her the team picks five days earlier than it used to, and at night, to hold the acid.1
Vine Hill surrounds the winery. The vines are low-yielding on very sandy soil, the berries are small, and the 2017 was barrel-fermented on native yeast, aged a year on the lees and bottled unfined and unfiltered.3
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Seven Single-Vineyard Chardonnay tasting at $195. It is the only way to use the heritage-clone policy for what it is for.4
- Order: the Five-Wine Tasting at $175 if you want a Pinot in the flight, four single-vineyard Chardonnays and one library Pinot Noir over 60 to 75 minutes.4
- Order: the Patio Tasting at $150 on a Friday or Saturday, which starts with a tour and finishes seated on the barn patio.4
- Avoid: booking the patio for a big group. It seats parties of four, and non-drinkers count.4
What locals & experts say
- Kim Marcus, Wine Spectator (issue 31 August 2020), on the 2017 Vine Hill Vineyard Chardonnay, 96 points and number six in the Top 100:
Complex, with crunchy acidity to the concentrated citrus and McIntosh apple flavors. Intense minerality shows midpalate, followed by a pure and powerful finish that lingers with dried savory herb and toasty hints.
3 - Elin McCoy, Decanter (3 January 2020), on where the house has got to: the wines have
evolved over the past decade years towards a slimmer, fresher, more energetic profile; the style that's now in fashion.
She counted eleven single-vineyard Chardonnays and two Pinot Noirs that year, against the twelve and two the winery lists today, and put production at 25,000 to 35,000 cases.1 - Jason Kesner on the man he replaced, to McCoy:
a genius
.1 - The winery on its own cellar:
There's no leeway for even a single barrel being a quarter inch out of line in our fermentation rooms.
4
Good to know
- Tuesday to Saturday, by appointment, and the number of tastings a day is limited on purpose.4
- Everyone must be 21. No children.4
- Groups of twelve to forty can book a Private Reception Tasting at $250 a head, 90 minutes, five wines with a menu from local chefs.4
- Food only comes with the patio and group formats. The seated tastings are wine alone.4
Verdict
must-visit — One heritage Chardonnay selection has gone into every Chardonnay vineyard they farm since the mid-1980s, and two heritage Pinot selections have been propagated for twenty-five years. Kim Marcus found crunchy acidity, McIntosh apple and a finish that lingers on dried herb in the 96-point wine, which cost $90. Book the seven-Chardonnay flight, the only one that puts the single vineyards side by side. Tastings run $150 to $195 depending on the flight, everybody has to be 21, and they cap the number they pour a day on purpose.